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Discovering Our Jewish Roots =
Posted=20 5/19/2005
By Yechiel Gati=20

Three=20 weeks ago we celebrated the holiday of Pesach, our = freedom=20 from the bondage of Egypt. I wish to address the = problem of=20 Jewish identity, a subject directly connected to the = Pesach=20 holiday. Spanning for thousands of years, Jewish = identity=20 continues to be one of the Jewish nation`s ever = growing=20 concerns.

I had the honor and privilege of = joining a=20 Seder (Pesach meal) with my family at a home in the = Old City=20 of Jerusalem. We shared the joyous experience of = freedom and=20 expression of Jewish pride at a table with 30 other = people and=20 their families. The Seder concluded at 3:30 a.m. with=20 everybody, including small children, sharing their = background=20 and most personal stories of Jewish tradition. Most of = the=20 families at the meal were non-observant, while the = remaining=20 families were slowly just discovering their Jewish = roots. For=20 some it was their first Seder in two decades since the = passing=20 of their grandparents who had held on to the tradition = of=20 inviting whole families to their homes for the = holiday. One=20 Californian family decided, before the holiday, to = transfer=20 their two girls from a public school to a Hebrew day = school.=20 Another family saw their traditional son join the = Israeli Army=20 while another participant traded his Harvard Law = degree and=20 position at JP Morgan to learn at Aish Hatorah, a = yeshiva for=20 Ba`alei Teshuva.

As the pattern dictates, the = Seder=20 table was surrounded by Jews who were not raised = religious but=20 were finding for themselves, some with the help of = their=20 parents, the Jewish path. Everyone shared their = heartfelt=20 stories as well as divrei Torah. Although most of the = guests=20 had never given a dvar Torah, their words of wisdom,=20 reflecting divine providence in their lives, = exemplified the=20 true divine spark of yiddishkeit that would guide them = to=20 their new future. Why is it that, all of a sudden, = Jews who in=20 some cases didn`t even know of their Jewish heritage = return to=20 their roots? What is it about the Jewish people that = causes so=20 many Jews to want to ``find`` themselves?

Of = all people=20 it was Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who coined the name = Children of=20 Israel. ("Behold the Children of Israel"). This is the = first=20 time we were defined as a nation. When Pharaoh = referred to us=20 as a nation, he was alluding to the connection and = fate that=20 bring us together. That which makes us a nation is our = common=20 sorrows, happiness, and mutual historical events =97 = the=20 connection of a common fate. One might question how = much of a=20 common fate really exists among Jews across the world, = and=20 what is the similarity between a Jew in Los Angeles, = and a Jew=20 in Moscow or in Jerusalem? Once Pharaoh perceived us = as a=20 national threat, he attempted to fight against our = rights as a=20 nation: "And Egypt worked the children of Israel with = hardship=20 ... Every son that is born you shall cast into the = river."=20 Every Jew, no matter where he lived, what language he = spoke or=20 what he wore, was in the same boat as every other=20 Jew.

After years of slavery, Moshe led the = nation from=20 the lowest point of slavery to the highest point of = freedom=20 and exclusive definition of Jewish identity. The day = we=20 accepted our culture, principles, Torah, commandments, = way of=20 life and world view, a definition of national identity = was=20 formed.

From the power of the Torah comes = Jewish=20 identity and our definition as a nation. Reality is = testament=20 to how we have survived as a nation to this day. = Nations and=20 countries from periods of the Bible disappeared as if = they=20 never existed. Great nations like Moab, the = Philistines, Aram,=20 Tzur Bavel, Persia, Media and many others are no more, = while=20 we, the small Jewish nation, survived. Is this all due = to that=20 one identity? This is the very one legacy that we have = been=20 preserving for 3,300 years, since our freedom from = Egypt, the=20 revelation at Mount Sinai and our arrival to Eretz=20 Yisrael.

Rosh Yehudi, an organization = established in=20 response to the acute thirst that has evidently arisen = among=20 the sector of the Israeli public that calls itself = "secular,"=20 to help them study Judaism and become more closely = acquainted=20 with Jewish thought, led a Pesach Seder of their own = in the=20 Old City of Jerusalem, headed by Rav Mordechai Elon. = It is=20 specifically this holiday which sees so many non = observant=20 Jews come together and tell (Magid) their personal = stories and=20 how this has brought them face-to-face with Orthodox = Judaism.=20 One may find it extremely difficult and uncomfortable = to sit=20 and discuss with ``strangers,`` into the small hours = of the=20 night, what Judaism, the Jewish people and Eretz = Yisrael mean=20 to them. They know there is a connection; we just have = to help=20 them see it.

Rav A. I. Kook, in his seminal = work Orot,=20 emphasizes that it is impossible for a Jew to be = faithful to=20 his complete self-realization anywhere other than in = Eretz=20 Yisrael. For only in the Land of Israel can one = achieve the=20 lofty purity of thought and action (avira de`Eretz = Yisrael=20 makhkim). To the believing Jew, this extraordinary = emphasis on=20 Eretz Yisrael should be a paramount reason for wanting = to=20 attach himself to the land. The Meshekh Hokhma = develops a=20 similar idea: ``From the time that Jerusalem and Zion = were=20 chosen, David in his psalms, Isaiah in his visions, = Jeremiah=20 in his admonishments, and Yechezkel in his parables = did not=20 cease to extol the mitzva of living and settling the=20 land.``

The Seder is one of the more important = events=20 regarded by Rosh Yehudi. Religious and non-religious = Israeli=20 Jews observed the holiday at Yeshivat Hakotel with the = Rosh=20 Yeshiva, Rabbi Mordechai Elon. Facing the Temple Mount = on the=20 roof of the yeshiva, Kabbalat Shabbat and the holiday = services=20 were led with singing and dancing. Rabbi Mordechai = Elon=20 discussed the pertinent laws of the Seder and the = holiday,=20 followed by a question-and-answer period which dealt = with the=20 deeper meaning of the Seder. There was deep = recognition at the=20 Seder of what Yetziat Mitzraim is for Am Yisrael. The = Seder=20 was joined by 150 people, mainly from Tel Aviv and 60 = Rosh=20 Yehudi staff members with their = families.

Bringing Jews=20 together will lead to the ultimate conclusion of the = Exodus=20 which occurred when we entered Eretz Yisrael and built = the=20 Beit Hamikdash, as we concluded the 15 stages of the = geulah in=20 the Haggada with "vehichnisanu l`Eretz Israel ubana = lanu et=20 beit habechirah." Until that point we were still = running away=20 from Egypt =97 physically, mentally and spiritually. = As=20 individuals we must all go through the stages of = geulah by=20 extricating ourselves from our personal = ``Mitzrayims.`` We=20 must then utilize this freedom to sanctify ourselves = by=20 creating an environment of holiness and purity for = ourselves=20 and our families, ideally in the holiness and purity = of Eretz=20 Yisrael. ◙

Yechiel Gati completed = his army=20 service in the IDF Spokesperson Unit and is now = learning at=20 Yeshivat Hakotel as part of the Hesder program. He can = be=20 reached at iplay10is@yahoo.com or at 011 972 508 943=20 945.